Consuming Lunch And Simple Socializing
by Mindy35
Summary: Jack/Liz. Post-ep for "Respawn". Jack, Liz and Liddy do family times in Central park.


Title: Consuming Lunch And Simple Socializing

Author: Mindy35

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Tina's, NBC's etc

Pairing: Jack/Liz, Jack/Absent Avery

Spoilers: "Respawn"

Summary: Post-ep. Jack, Liz and Liddy do family times in Central Park.

-x-x-x-

They meet up a few more times during Liz's work detail in Central Park. The first time by accident; the second, not so much. It just works out that the best time for Liddy's daily stroll coincides with Liz and her chain gang taking their lunch break. So the third time they meet, Jack shows up with freshly-made sandwiches from a nearby deli and two coffees balanced on top of the stroller. They settle on a couple of small boulders in a sunny but quiet corner of the park. Ravenous from the physical toil of the morning, Liz shotguns her coffee and wolfs down her two egg sandwiches before Jack's even managed to arrange a fussy Liddy on his lap or open his own lunch.

"Ah, Lemon-" He rises, handing the baby across so that he can have two hands to eat his lunch. "Would you mind?"

"Oh. Not at all." Liz dusts off her hands and takes Liddy, who squirms momentarily then settles. "Hey there, baby girl," she coos, bouncing the bub in her arms, "how you doin'? Huh?"

Jack just watches a moment. "Well, would you look at that..."

Liz glances up at him. "What?"

"Liddy usually doesn't like being handed over to other people." He unwraps his sandwich, waves one half at her. "She seems to like you though."

"Really?" Liz looks down at her, adjusting the little girl's hat to shelter her eyes from the sun. "Maybe she just thinks I'm a giant carrot."

"She doesn't know what a carrot is," Jack points out, mouth full.

Liz gives a shrug, her eyes still focused on Liddy. "I'm just saying. All the orange. She might like it. I might look like a toy or something."

"Or something is right." He swallows, reaching for his coffee before adding: "But my daughter is far too smart to be fooled by appearances."

"Good girl," she mutters, giving her bottom a soft pat. "I like you already."

"And the feeling seems to be mutual," Jack notes, an interested lilt in his voice. "Much like her mother, Liddy is very opinionated. So believe me, if she didn't like you, you would know about it."

"Then I'd say she was like you, Jack."

"How so?"

She lets out a tiny snort. "Seriously? _You_ have been letting me know for five years now all the many, _many_ things you don't like about me. Daily. Relentlessly. And with agonizing candor." She leans down, crooning in an overly indulgent voice to his baby: "Hasn't he? Hasn't your Daddy done that? Yes, he has."

Jack studies her a moment, brows furrowed. "Lemon, I'm shocked that you would see it that way. I thought you understood the uniquely uninhibited nature of our interaction."

She looks up, tips her head to one side. "And - like I already told you, Jack - I thought _you _understood that I don't necessarily understand whatever you understand."

Jack takes a breath, then another bite of his sandwich. "Well, as _I _understood it," he says after swallowing, "you were aware that, as difficult as it may be to believe at times, I too possess certain…failings."

Liz nods once. "I was actually aware of that, yes."

"I admit, I might not be the most forthcoming of men. Emotionally speaking. But I am trying to amend that, for Liddy's sake."

"That's sweet, Jack."

"For generations, the Donaghy way was to criticize." He wags his head, looking into the distance for a moment. "To challenge. To do battle. To cut down to size. I know no other way, it's in my blood." His eyes return to her, a spark of warmth in them. "But I would hardly trouble myself to do so with you, Lemon, if I didn't consider you…like family. It's how we Donaghys show our affection and esteem."

"So you're telling me…" she narrows her eyes at him, her lips curving upwards, "you criticize because you care?"

"Exactly, Lemon, exactly. It might seem odd to some, even odd to you-"

"Yes. On both counts."

"But in truth…" he pauses, smiling as he tells her: "I couldn't adore you more. Even when resembling an oversized root vegetable."

"Well…" Liz ducks her head, unsuccessfully suppressing a smile. "_That _is all very well, Jack. But let me ask you this; is your kid groping my boob right now?"

Jack lowers his gaze to where Liddy has made her way over the top of her orange vest and is ferreting around for a breast. "Ah, yes, she is. Sorry, Lemon. She does that occasionally with the baby nurse too."

Liz casts him a wry look. "I'm hoping that's _not_ something she got from you."

"Avery did not take to breast-feeding very well," Jack explains, reaching into the stroller to find Liddy's bottle. "Which was further complicated by her swift return to work and her…overseas adventures. As a result, Liddy did not get enough breast-time and still craves that intimacy sometimes."

"Hey…well-" Liz shrugs as Liddy continues to claw at her curiously, "who doesn't, right?"

Jack sets aside his lunch, leaning over, bottle in hand. "Here, do you want me to…?"

"No-no, I'll do it." She holds out a hand for the bottle. "Let me. You finish."

Jack sits. He watches Liz offer his daughter the bottle, get summarily rejected, then try again very gently, the fake nipple sliding in as Liddy starts to feed. "How did you know to do that?" he asks her.

Liz looks up at him. "What?"

"That thing where you tease the nipple over their mouth."

"Dunno, I read it somewhere, I think."

"Ah." He bobs his head a few times then takes up his lunch, continuing to eat as Liddy sucks away contentedly, her half-closed eyes fixed on Liz. Liz watches her, adjusts the bottle when needed and unconsciously begins to rock back and forth on her mini boulder.

"It's a good look for you, you know," Jack tells her a minute or so later.

"What?" she asks. "The giant carrot look?"

"No, I mean…" He pauses, his voice tentative when he continues, "You look good…with her. With a baby. It…suits you."

Liz smiles slightly. "Yeah…?"

"Hmm." Jack pops the last of his sandwich in his mouth, chomping thoughtfully. "Avery never…she always looked somewhat…incongruous with a baby clamped to her. I thought. Perhaps, she just never quite settled into being a mom. Or perhaps I just never completely saw her as one. But…you seem to be a natural at all this."

"That's a myth, Jack. No woman is a born mother. Just as no man is a born father."

"It is a steep learning curve, I agree."

"So…" She hesitates, her eyes sliding over his face, "How're you doing with it all then? I mean, with Avery away. Because I could help out if- is that…would that be weird?"

"No, Lemon. I don't see why that would be weird. And I could definitely use an extra pair of hands." He smiles as Liz mops up some escaped milk from Liddy's chin, garnering a grin from the baby in response. "Especially considering how Liddy has taken to you."

"I only ask because I have so much time over the summer-"

"When you're not picking up trash."

She gives a superior toss of her head. "Hey. I am actively and gladly beautifying this fine city of ours, Jack. And there is nothing wrong with honest, simple labor."

"Absolutely not."

"Speaking of which, break's over and I need to get back to it."

"And we need to head home for Liddy's nap," he adds, getting to his feet.

Liz waits another minute, for Liddy to drain the small bottle, then pulls the teat from her wet, happy mouth. She looks at the empty bottle, clearly impressed. "Wow. Someone was hungry." Then carefully, she rises and passes the burping bundle across to Jack who places her back into her stroller.

He's still bent over his drowsy daughter, arranging her blankets, when he murmurs slowly, "Ah, Lemon? How would you like to come over tonight? For a little dinner?"

"Um. I would. Sure." She nods a few times then frowns at him warily. "You're not going to make me wear any of your wife's stuff or have me perform any of her wifely duties, are you? I didn't mean for that to sound dirty. I just meant-" she waves a hand, "never mind."

Jack straightens, drawing in a full breath of fresh air. "Actually, I was thinking of having a normal night in - the new-old normal, that is. If you're interested, I was thinking of just ordering Chinese and eating in front of the TV."

"Now you're speaking my language. I'll be there." Liz leans down, slipping a thumb into Liddy's little hand as she tells her in a soft voice, "Bye-bye, cute thing. You can totally grope my boob some more later if you want. I won't mind at all." She straightens, nods cheerfully. "Well! Here I go to garden my ass off."

"Have fun," Jack chuckles, pointing the stroller homewards.

"I will!" she calls, marching towards her chain gang. "And I'll see you tonight!"

"See you later, Lemon." He is turning to go but can't help stopping, tipping his head to one side as he catches her pause mid-stride to pluck her underwear out of her baggy orange encased ass-crack. Jack rolls his eyes and hisses to Liddy, for neither the first nor the last time: "Say 'Good God Lemon'."

His daughter grins her baby grin and offers up a high-pitched: "Goo Go Len!"

Liz turns, blurts out a little laugh then continues on, yelling at her lazy, scattered cohorts in perfect Spanish.

_END._


End file.
